Author's Notes: Sorry for the delay in updating! I'm taking summer classes and soooo swamped. But this story is not forgotten… we are getting close to the end…! Many thanks to reviewers: seventeen4ever, Aiyami Sakura, EmilyMR, ConradKCat, NateNotorious, nessie125, midtwilight, hotmessz, luv2beloved, x-rayLady, fanged archangel, LehcarMarie, sonia48, Ariana Jade, R.C. Cullen 888, .jam, WannaBeStephenieM, Renesmee is Awesome, girlover84, emma, Tashibi, MrsTaylorLautner.X, mysteryfan09, Lus-In, and Miamore! Several of you are pretty good at sussing out the next moves of our fav vampire family. And apologies if I butchered the Latin in this chapter.


Disclaimer: The Twilight saga and all characters therein are the creation of Stephenie Meyer. No profit is being made from this fanfiction and no copyright infringement is intended.


Chapter Twenty-Three

Mutiny

The sun emerged from behind a stray cloud and bathed the clearing in light. The jungle was a vivid green and purple and brown circle around us; the buildings were stark and white and ordered, contrasting against the carpet of emerald grass beneath our feet. The sun made the wolves' fur shine, made my skin glow, made the vampires' skin dazzle. Even the skin of the three Volturi elders looked like diamonds folded in tissue paper, the way an antique piece of jewelry might be wrapped.

The faces of the other half-vampires could be seen at the window of the building behind the helicopter, listening.

All eyes were on Nicole the newborn as she spoke haltingly.

"I saw a city, a long time ago. It looked like Italy. They were there." She pointed at the Volturi. "It was… after the Roman Empire, based on the clothing and the market."

I remembered that Nicole had been a high school history teacher as a human.

Nicole staggered forward, awkwardly, like a person walking on the moon, unused to her own strength. "Marcus," she said.

"What?" Aro answered for Marcus. Now I could smell the fear on Aro. So could the rest of us.

"Marcus. He was younger, stronger. I saw his mate. Her name was Didyme."

I couldn't imagine Marcus moving so fast, but he was there, gripping Nicole's shoulders with talon-like hands. His inky black hair cascaded around his face. "How dare you speak her name, child." His voice was dead.

"D-Don't you want to know how she d-died?" Nicole stammered.

"All right!" Aro almost screamed. "That's quite enough of the history lesson! Marcus, let us depart. Our job here is done."

Now even the Volturi guard were staring, astonished, at their leaders. Alec's and Jane's eyes were wide as saucers in their childish faces. Chelsea looked wary.

"Chelsea," Aro hissed. "Make him come."

"I cannot," she replied.

A ripple went through the group of gray cloaks. Although the three Volturi were, theoretically, equal in power, it was Aro who really ran the show. And Chelsea had just defied an order.

This is getting good, I thought, touching Jacob's snout.

The waves of "everybody, just be calm" came like a tsunami from poor Jasper.

"Tell me," said Marcus in a whisper.

"Didyme, she was very beautiful, a kind and happy person," said Nicole. "I saw the two of you discussing your future. You were on a hilltop overlooking this small city. You stood beneath an olive tree. You both wanted to go away, to live together away from that one." She pointed at Aro. "Didyme was his sister in life. But even she had grown tired of her brother's quest for power; she said, 'Nos servamus nostrum infinitio.'"

Marcus gasped.

"And then you were in a round room, surrounded by thrones, with a drain in the middle and tapestries on the walls. And your wife's brother gave his blessing, and he touched you both, your joined hands. He saw your thoughts and intentions. But you could not see his.

"Then, it was dark, and he," she pointed at Aro, whose tendons stood out on his frail neck, "took Didyme for a walk. They were walking in an orchard. And then he killed her."

Okay, I was not expecting that.

Marcus's hands dropped from Nicole's shoulders.

Gasps blossomed around me.

The Volturi guard were stock-still, only their eyes in motion, looking from Marcus to Aro and back again, waiting to see what would happen next.

"Aro… killed… her…" Marcus's voice was a pale thread, too fragile for the tropical air.

"He took her apart and burned her body right there in the orchard. Then he set the orchard on fire to disguise his scent. I saw him racing back. His hair was fixed in a long braid."

"…killed…her…" Slowly, with utmost care, Marcus turned to Aro. "Did you?"

His last two words hung for too long. The answer was on Aro's stricken face.

Marcus's shriek of grief seemed built up over the centuries. His face had come alive, blazing hatred and betrayal, and his liquid reddish eyes focused into hard points. With an incredible energy he sprang for Aro's throat, hands outstretched. The two ancients battled, a tableau of pure vengeance. Under the harsh sun they looked like cracked oil paintings come to life, turning on each other after hanging in the same room for millennia.

We could only watch, fascinated. The Volturi guard moved backward as one, glancing at each other in utter bewilderment, unsure of who to support.

"She's loosening the bonds," Bella whispered, nodding at Chelsea but her eyes still fixed on the flashing hands and wrenching screams as Marcus and Aro fought.

Then, out of nowhere, Caius moved into the melee, screeching and tossing himself onto Marcus, and before he could get a grasp, Embry had the oldest vampire in his jaws.

Caius panicked and flailed his arms and legs, trying to bite Embry, but then Quil was there growling in his face. Edward translated. "They say don't move, Caius, or you're dead."

It was over within seconds. It was never a fair fight. Against the unleashed rage of Marcus, Aro didn't stand a chance. He was a pile of dusty limbs on the ground, twitching and quivering, and Marcus stood above him, panting.

From one of his pockets Marcus pulled a lighter and then Aro was burning.

My knees weakened. There, ignominious in the middle of a rainforest, the cultured and ruthless leader of the vampires died. Aro's purple smoke billowed out in clouds the way his black robes had done.

The others were unmoving, looking down at the pyre, not in mourning but in shock. Just as when Saul had burned, I thought about the great mind that was now silenced, the vampire who'd held the history of the world in his head. I glanced at Carlisle, who'd once been Aro's friend.

Carlisle looked like someone had punched him in the gut. His mouth was parted slightly and he wasn't breathing. He clutched Esme's hand and I could see the whiteness of his knuckles.

The crumbling of power was interrupted by Caius, screaming, "Put me down! Release me!"

"He intends to kill Marcus," said Edward.

Marcus growled and turned toward Caius. "Edward Cullen," he said.

"Yes?"

"What are these wolves' intentions toward Caius?"

Edward paused as Jacob told him. "They'll kill him if you wish."

Good. I was rooting for Marcus, too, I told Jacob.

Jacob's gruff bark was the command, and he sprang over me and joined his pack in dismembering the screaming, pleading, ancient Caius.

I knew Jacob had never forgiven Caius for voting to off me, sixteen years ago on that field of almost-battle.

Soon Caius's remains joined Aro's on the fire. Through the flickering orange flames, I saw the witch twins, Jane and Alec. They looked forlorn, as if they'd lost their parents, and for a brief moment I almost – not quite, but almost – felt sorry for them.

No one spoke or moved until Aro and Caius were mostly gone, leaving fluttering piles of ashes that lifted on the slight breeze.

It was Emmett, of course. "Well," he said, crossing his arms, "now what?"


I leaned back against Jacob's warm fur, listening. Chelsea and her mate – his name was Afton – were speaking with Edward, Bella, Alice, Rosalie, and the wolves about what to do next. I felt like a spectator in all this, despite that I'd got everyone into the trouble in the first place. The group had split into a series of odd couples: Jane and Alec, in some kind of daze, stood in front of the ashes of their leaders. Kate and Garrett spoke in urgent whispers about politics. Carlisle and Tanya were discussing the progress of the human mothers in the ward – "about two days," said Carlisle – and what to do about them. Seth – now in human form – and Aylen were standing in the shade of the trees, gazing into each other's eyes.

Emmett was trying to provoke the large, tall Volturi guard – Felix, I'd learned his name – into an anaconda-wrestling contest. Felix was in a bad mood due to the sudden vacuum of leadership and wasn't having any of it.

Jasper and Esme were explaining to the group of hybrids that they were free to go. Nahuel was practically jumping with the desire to leave, but with Aylen now the Almighty Imprinted One of Seth, he couldn't. His other two sisters were in a bitter state; evidently they'd fully believed and endorsed Saul's scientific mandate and wanted to produce ultra-hybrid-talent babies. Brainwashed by their late father, no doubt.

And then there was Marcus. He wouldn't leave Nicole's side. The oldest vampire and the youngest stood in the shade of the office building, talking. I hardly recognized Marcus; it was as though he'd been in suspended animation and someone had flicked on the power switch.

Chelsea saw me looking in their direction. "I was always reaffirming his bond to Aro and Caius," she explained. "He didn't want to stay. I think he wanted to be destroyed when his mate died."

"Sounds familiar," said Rosalie, arching an eyebrow at Edward.

What!

Jacob snorted.

You'll have to tell me that story.

Edward shot a warning glance at Jacob, but I knew Jacob would tell me anyway. Whatever I wanted… that was the right of the imprinted upon.

"I don't know what to do," Chelsea confessed. She knew Edward was reading every thought that crossed her mind, so she might as well be honest with all of us. "There's the property in Volterra, the rest of the guard, the wives… Oh my God, the wives…"

"They'll be destroyed by this," said Chelsea's mate.

"Literally?" said Bella, who sounded very sorry.

"That's what happens when you marry power-hungry evil vampires," said Alice. She closed her eyes. "Yes, they'll ask to be destroyed, both of them."

"It would be the merciful thing to do," said Edward.

Chelsea sighed. "I suppose."

I found myself liking Chelsea more and more. She was the glue that held the Volturi coven together but now she was becoming unstuck. Chelsea's life as she'd known it was over. Then again, she could just be using her powers to attach herself to us, the new coven in town.

I touched Bella's neck, wondering. Is your shield up against Chelsea?

Bella nodded.

Oh. Then I really was starting to like her.

"I don't think now is the time or place to discuss the new order of things," said Edward. "You should go back to Volterra. Take care of the wives. And think hard about what you want to do, because I'll tell you what… you have a lot of enemies now. Especially when word gets out about what you were getting up to here in Brazil."

"I'd suggest you go home and lay low," said Alice. "Otherwise…" she closed her eyes for a moment. "Otherwise, the Romanians will make a move to depose you. And that won't do anyone any good."

I remembered the two Romanians. They were hilarious and bloodthirsty. I'd been fascinated with them as a toddler.

"So we go back, say nothing, and what? Trust you people?" said Chelsea.

"You have no choice," said Edward.

"We won't tell anyone. We'll wait for things to settle," said Bella.

"Yes…" said Alice. "I see a gathering beginning. Vampires from all over. In Volterra. In peace."

Edward smiled. "Go ahead, Jake."

I raised my eyebrows as Jacob bounded into the forest and returned in human form. It was hard concentrating on anything else when he was shirtless like that… mmm

"I have a few things to say. It's so obvious," said Jacob. "You people need to have some kind of leech convention."

At the word "convention", Garrett was at Jacob's side. "A wonderful idea," he said. "With representatives from all over the world. We need to assert our rights. We can create a Constitution!"

"And send the Volturi home for now," said Jacob, pointing at the black helicopter lurking like a giant bug on the lawn. "Take photos of this place as evidence and then destroy the compound. Everyone's too wound up to make any more decisions right now."

"I foresaw that I would need this," said Alice, pulling a digital camera out of her pocket.

"That's Shortie," said Jacob, grinning. "Always prepared."

Chelsea was nodding. "Yes. There are… things to do at home." Her voice cracked a little on the word "home" and I wondered how in the world they were going to tell those left in Volterra that the rug was out from under their feet.

It also left me wishing, just a little, that none of this had happened. The Volturi were cultured. For centuries they had protected the vampire species from discovery by humanity. Had we just opened a big can of worms? Was a slightly oppressive authority better than no authority at all? Humanity had the power to destroy us, should our secret be discovered. They had the weapons, the technology, to do it. Without the Volturi… who knew. Was ruthlessness the only way to rule a ruthless species – vampires?

Edward met my eye, looking thoughtful.

I shrugged.

He shrugged back.

Whatever the answer, we were about to find out.

Chelsea and her mate gathered the rest of the Volturi guard, except for Marcus, who waved at her as though annoyed. "We'll leave this in your hands," she said, gesturing around at the defunct facility.

"Gee, thanks," said Emmett. "So who's flying this sucker?" he pointed at the helicopter.

"I am," said Felix. He narrowed his eyes at Emmett.

"Shall I get a measuring tape, you two?" said Rosalie.

Emmett grinned at her. "You know I measure up."

She giggled.

When the helicopter lifted off, carrying the Volturi away into the sky, Jacob and I walked around the compound. The other hybrids, aside from Nahuel, had taken off into the jungle. Without Chelsea to cement their relationships, they suddenly had better places to be. Before they left, Jasper swore them to secrecy and Esme asked them to try not to eat people.

As I walked around with Jacob, I discovered that I couldn't wait to leave this place. It was sticky, creepy, and smelled like vampire ashes. Jacob agreed wholeheartedly. "Only thing is the pregnant women," he said, wincing.

Kate overheard us. "We're going to stay to help Carlisle," she said. "Garrett and Tanya and I. If you guys want to go, you should."

"I'm just along for the ride," I said.

"My pack's getting a little discontented," said Jacob. "We either need to hunt or get back to the hotel for some real food."

"Let's ask my dad if we can go already," I said.

"Or I could just sweep you off your feet and carry you with me, regardless," said Jacob.

I put my hands on his cheeks. I like the sounds of that.

"You like the idea of me dragging you off into the jungle?"

Yep. By my hair.

Jacob laughed.

We found Tanya speaking with Edward and Bella, near the charred spot where Aro had perished. "Yes, I've asked to do the honors," she said. "I've never done it before and I need to practice."

"Practice?" I asked.

"Hi, Nessie. Yes," said Tanya, flipping her shining strawberry hair over one shoulder, "if the humans request to be saved, turned into vampires, I've asked Carlisle to let me turn them. Just in case I ever pull an Edward and fall madly in love with some mortal man."

"Edward!" said Emmett, overhearing. "You fell in love with a mortal man and didn't tell us?"

Jacob let out a long-suffering sigh. "So much for treaties," he muttered.

"The world is changing," said Tanya. "Ever since Bella's blood sang for Edward… nothing's been normal."

"Leave it to me to make everything all upside-down," said Bella.

"No, leave it to me to have made such a big deal out of everything," said Edward.

"Spare us!" said Jacob, clapping a hand to his chest. It drove him crazy when my parents went back and forth like that.

I wondered how he put up with me, really. I decided to have a little fun. "Actually, it's mostly my fault. Leave it to me to spark this vampire revolution."

"I'd say it's not your fault, Ness," said Jacob, "except I know that you secretly relish the thought."

I smirked.

"Jacob, if the pack needs to go, it's fine," said Edward. "Bella and I can fly you all back to Rio. Carlisle and Esme have enough help here."

"When can we leave? Now?"

Edward smiled. "Sure."

"Thank goodness," said Bella. "I don't like this place. It's creepy."

I nodded for emphasis.

"Enough has happened in the past two days to last me a long time," she said. "All this fighting and killing and stuff…"

"Hey, you got your first kill," I teased.

"And it's a good thing you did!" added Edward. "That old woman could have done some real damage."

"That's true! I did kill her, didn't I!" said Bella, brightening. "Emmett can't make fun of me anymore."

"Not about that, at least," said Jacob. "I'm sure we can find something else."

"In any case," said Bella, "I hope things are done happening. I don't know if I can take any more."

Jacob called out, "Okay, turkeys! Gather up!" The pack descended on us, all in human form. Leah's arms were crossed; she'd been ready to leave ages ago. In fact, I was pretty certain she'd never wanted to come to Brazil in the first place. Seth and Aylen were holding hands, all starry-eyed.

"So, lovebirds, think you can wait until Rio to make out?" said Quil, nudging Seth. "Hey! Earth to Seth!"

"Say what? Oh! Yeah, sorry," Seth said, grinning.

"Can my brother come with us?" asked Aylen softly.

"Anything you want, babe," Seth said.

"Oh, you have a brother, do you?" said Leah scornfully to Aylen. "Jacob, for real. I'm so sick of the smell of vampire I could puke. Half-vampires are just as bad. No offense, girls, but you both smell like a cake factory mixed with a French perfume house. It hurts my nose to be around you."

"Don't worry," I said to Aylen, who looked dismayed. "Leah gets like this when she's hungry and hasn't had a shower. She's actually nice."

"Yeah, right," muttered Quil.

"Hmmph," said Leah, crossing her arms and turning her face away.

"Oh, look! Here comes another smelly half-vampire for you to meet," said Jacob with glee. "What's up, Nahuel."

"Hello," Nahuel said in his rich voice. "We are leaving?"

"Yep. Leah, I don't think you've met Aylen's brother. Nahuel, this is Leah, my second-in-command. Leah, Nahuel."

Leah uncrossed her arms and turned her reluctant, pretty pout onto Nahuel. Her breath caught in her throat and she tilted her head. Her hands quivered and she leaned forward, towards Nahuel, who was blinking hard as though staring into direct sunlight.

"You have got to be kidding me," Embry cried.

"What? No way," I said, a laugh bubbling upward out of my chest. "Leah? Nahuel?"

"Bells is right. This is too much to handle," said Jacob.

Leah wasn't having any of it. Her eyes were for Nahuel only. "Oh, shut up, all of you!" She seized Nahuel by the hand and dragged him off toward the forest.

She was chased by our roaring laughter.